Gourmet deconstruction

There’s no more exquisite torture than food-centric shows—networks like Bravo, the Travel Channel, and Food Network all seem to delight in showing some delicious but impossible dish served to the gasps of delight of judges and lucky audience members. And we all think the same thing: I want to eat that! Of course, most of us don’t have a caviar dropper at home, or the time to chase down esoteric ingredients like agar powder. But at Ruffino’s weekly Top Chef dinners, executive chef Peter Sclafani does all of that work for you. Each Wednesday, Sclafani reverse-engineers and serves up the winning dishes from the previous week’s episode of Bravo’s highly rated reality cooking show, Top Chef. This past week, for the “deconstructed” challenge, he recreated several unconventional dishes with unfamiliar techniques, from “spherified” caesar salad dressing to truffled veal demi-glace and carrot foam. As Ruffino’s menu is heavy on comfort food, although full of uniquely satisfying twists, it’s a chance for Sclafani to do something different in the kitchen, and keep his methods fresh. “I like to step out of my comfort zone a little and have fun with it,” he says. “And it gives me a chance to keep up on new techniques and technologies.” Check out a photo gallery of the deconstructed dishes here. And if you’re interested in sampling some of Sclafani’s Top Chef takes, make your reservations at Ruffino’s for next Wednesday, when he’ll be tackling the “Dinner Party” challenge. The dinners will continue for the length of the Top Chef season, and start around 8 p.m., during the replay of the previous week’s show, so you can compare Chef Sclafani’s dishes to the ones onscreen.  Call 753-3458 to reserve your spot.